It Had To Be Blue
by Sewer Slider
Summary: Complete! Finally. Leonardo, as seen through the eyes of a Purple Dragon. Winner of best ActionAdventure in the 2005 fanfic awards!
1. Chapter 1

**It Had To Be Blue**

By Sewer Slider

Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT or the Purple Dragons. Just the story.

This is my first TMNT fic, so please be nice! Review and let me know what was good, what was bad and what you want to see more of.

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It had to be Blue, I thought as I backed up against the wall, raising the crowbar I held in what I hoped was a threatening matter. Of all the turtle-men in the city, it just had to be Blue.

I'd come on the job with some of my fellow Dragons. The Purple Dragons are my family, the only people I can trust, and we needed money. The gang wars that had been dividing the city recently had left a lot of fighting for territory and although we had won much of that, thanks to an uneasy return to our alliance with the Foot, there was still new, hungry gangs turning up, trying to muscle in. We needed more money just to keep hold on what was ours – money for weapons, for members – and of course, there's the status that goes with pulling off the heists that we did. Ripping off a store on any block means that territory belongs to the Purple Dragons and some of the other gangs had tried muscling in on that. Not a wise move.

It was my first job back since I'd been hurt, aside from petty bag snatches, which are more of a way to make sure everyone knows whose turf they're on rather than a way to make much money. The girl who worked in the pawn shop had been 'persuaded' to forget to set the alarm, leaving us able to just spring the locks and the stuff was ours. There was a lot of good stuff there, electronics and jewellery as well as cash in the safe. The owner took cash to the bank only once a week, the day after his day off. We found that out from the girl who worked there, as well as the combination. For a shop with such a high turnover, the security was pitiful, the owner being far too cheap to upgrade.

We had a van parked in the alley beside the store and it took a few trips to haul the stuff on the back. Often, we had been known to snatch stuff out of the back of vans while the driver delivered a single box and they were my favourite jobs – I got off on the danger and excitement. But the arm injury meant I had to go a bit easier. Still, good to get back into practice. The job was going off without a hitch…

"Doing a little late-night shopping?"

…Right up until Blue showed up.

Spike had been put in charge of the job and he dropped what he was carrying straight away. Snarling, he glanced down the alley and saw what I already noticed – there was only one of them this time, almost totally hidden in the shadows although I could just make out the green hue of his skin and the colour of his mask. Even if I couldn't see the mask, I don't think I'll ever forget his voice. Usually they travel in a group of four, although I've no idea how many of them there really are. There might be more but they're the only ones I've seen. They all look pretty much the same whenever I've seen them; their coloured masks the only way to tell them apart. Sometimes you see them with a vigilante guy who was giving us trouble long before he teamed up with them and has given us more since. There have been other combinations of the groups, but it's pretty rare to see just one of them. Normally, the situation would have given me hope – it was way past time that the Dragons earned some payback for what the freaks have done to us in the past and there were seven of us, all armed with some kind of weapon, and only one of him. Should have been easy, right? Ha. Nothing's ever easy when it comes to the freaks. And the fact that it was Blue churned my stomach in a way I couldn't quite fathom; defiance and shame competing for superiority over the bad memories…

_Another night, another job, two months ago. Less simple than usual because of the recent influx of rival gangs trying to muscle in on our territory. Usually our weapons of choice were made for fighting up close and personal, crowbars, chains, pipes, whatever came to hand. But some of the other gangs had stepped up the action and Dragon Face had procured a large amount of guns and rifles from who knew where. None of us were forced to carry them, but many people felt safer with them rather than our traditional Dragon weapons. Not me. I didn't like getting the idea of getting a beating or getting shot for that matter, but I had little experience with carrying a gun. I was learning slowly but I had visions of shooting myself in the foot. I opted for a chain, easy to carry on your person and can be used in a variety of ways and situations to cause maximum injury._

_We were on edge. Another job three nights before had been interrupted by a rival street gang. The Dragons had come out on top but the cops had shown up and we'd had to leave without the haul. The disrespect was intolerable, causing Dragon Face to yell furiously and set up this other job as soon as he could and making me personally very pleased that Hun hadn't been around much lately._

_Everything had been going so well. A warehouse job, nothing difficult, nothing that should have caused us any problems. The haul inside wasn't the point of the exercise though – the location was in an area where we were unlikely to be interrupted by the cops again if the other gang turned up. And we were all REALLY hoping the other gang would turn up. _

_As it turned out, the other gang didn't turn up. They did a job less than a week later that landed half of them in the slammer, including the ringleaders when the rest of the gang turned informant to get lighter sentences. But we did have company. _

_"Well well. What have we got here?"_

_I groaned, pulled out the chain and turned around, knowing what I'd see. The Dragons have taken enough disrespect from the Turtle freaks to recognise their voices when we hear them. All four of them, in fighting stances. Rather than wait for them to do some of those karate moves on us, I decided to run in with my weapon swinging. Several of the other Dragons had the same idea, throwing themselves into the fray and trying to do as much damage as possible. The rest held back, knowing that it might be good strategy to await an opening. Not that we'd ever been given one before._

_I whipped the chain around at the nearest freak, the Purple-masked one. He swung his stick around, backing up so I didn't hit him. My chain wrapped around the stick and I realised my mistake just in time to get yanked closer and kicked right in the solar plexus. I flew backward, hitting a wall and cracking my head. Moaning in pain, I rubbed the spot hoping to clear my muzzy thoughts in time to help my friends. _

_Blinking a couple of times, I could see that the Dragons were getting a beating. Or should I say another beating. Red was growling, tussling with Spike, one of the toughest Dragons there is – but Red shoved him backward, leapt up and kicked him in the face as he tried to attack again. Blue sliced up the weapons of two of the other Dragons at the same time, confusing them and leaving them vulnerable to his follow-up attack. Orange had managed to hook his own weapons, two sticks on a chain in either hand, around the pipes another two Dragons were holding and ducked, causing them to knock their heads together and leaving them down and out. And Purple hadn't even paused for breath after he knocked me flying, taking on three guys and knocking their feet from under them._

_I could feel my anger rising. It wasn't as if we were doing anyone any harm after all. These Turtle freaks kept on interfering in our business; no wonder we were getting insulted. They jumped in to our affairs, beat us up and made us lose money. The other gangs were laughing at us because of them. And for what? To play the hero? The people we took from could afford to share with us and it wasn't like we killed anyone, only roughed them up a bit. And the Turtle-men roughed us up even more, so didn't it all work out? We were being victimised by the freaks and no matter what we did, they always seemed to come out on top. _

_I stood up, grabbed my chain and advanced, hoping maybe this time I could at least hurt one of them before I got tossed into the wall again…_

_Stupid. Stupid. I'd forgotten all about the recent gang hostilities, this fight being another rehash of all the other times we had fought the freaks, right up to the outcome where they beat us and took off, leaving us without our haul, bruised and beaten. I'd forgotten the Dragons who hung back all had guns instead of the usual array of weapons. I was angry, intent on doing some damage to the nearest freak, which happened to be Red…_

_The noise took me by surprise. I turned my head to see what was going on, not noticing the freaks all jump into the corners of the warehouse, and still not remembering we were armed…_

Blue stepped out of the shadows as the others advanced, this time only me hesitating to leap into battle. The other six went for him, this time at least not carrying guns. Blue didn't even seem to care, slashing at the weapons they were carrying, a series of kicks and punches felling my fellow Dragons without trouble. Less than a minute after the fighting began, the others were lying groaning on the floor.

Blue glanced down at them and sheathed his swords, taking a few steps forward and noticing me backed against the wall, pipe raised in case he came any closer and I might be able to get a few blows in…but I doubted it. Besides, he didn't seem interested in fighting me.

Stopping a few paces from me, he paused and folded his arms. "You came back."

"Y-yeah. So?" Wow, lame. I was trying to sound tough, like a Purple Dragon should, but my voice was that of a scared little kid.

"Why?" He looked genuinely mystified, as far as I could tell from his strange features and the shadowy alleyway.

"The Dragons are my family."

He snorted in contempt. "Yeah, some family."

I wanted to stick up for my family, say something that would erase his impressions of what had happened that night…

_It felt like I'd been punched in the arm, really hard. For a moment it was like being back with my parents and my bully of an older brother, hurting me for fun and laughing when I cried. Then I felt something warm running down my hand and trickling on the floor and I had just enough time to look at the place my Dragon tattoo had been before the bullet had sliced through the flesh and fatty tissue and muscle of my arm before my legs gave way and I collapsed to the floor, bleeding like crazy. _

_Memories of those minutes as I lay bleeding are a haze. I can recall the shots, sounding freakishly loud in the enclosed space, growing lesser as the fighting resumed. I saw nothing of it. My eyes were open but I was staring at a patch of concrete and thinking that this wasn't the way I wanted to die, accidentally shot by one of my own gang. It was a bad joke, cruel irony, pick your metaphor. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I wasn't supposed to die…_

_I don't know for sure, but I think I blacked out for a moment. The next thing I knew, I was being rolled onto my back. My arm hurt like fire and I would have screamed if I'd been able to._

_"…Just a kid…"_

_"…Die unless we stop the bleeding…"_

_"…Purple Dragon, I say we let…"_

_Opening my eyes right then was the hardest thing I've ever done and as soon as I did I wished I hadn't. I could see the silhouette of the Turtle freaks faces above me. _

_Purple was frowning, looking concerned. "We need to stem the bleeding. Mikey, can you find something?"_

_"On it!" Orange vanished from my view and I struggled to gather my thoughts. _

_"Get…don't touch me." It was barely more than a whisper._

_"Hush," said Purple absently. Orange reappeared with what looked like Spike's shirt – oh boy, was he ever gonna be pissed if I bled all over it. Didn't seem to bother Purple though, who pressed the shirt to my arm. Instantly the nerve endings sang and I tried to scream, little more than a moan emerging. Suddenly I was desperately thirsty._

_Red leant closer. "Shot by one of your own thugs. Guess you feel pretty stupid, huh?"_

_"Go…to…hell."_

_"Raph, hush up!" Purple increased the pressure on my arm and I gritted my teeth. A tearing sound told me that Spike's shirt was history and Purple tied a torn piece close to my shoulder as a makeshift tourniquet._

_Orange had gone missing from my line of sight but I could hear his voice, sounding about a thousand miles away. "Guys, it's the police! Heading this way!"_

_"Time for us to go," said Blue._

_"But…" Purple looked up at Blue. "This wound's gonna bleed out if we go now. They won't get here in time and none of the other Dragons look up to helping." _

_"You guys go," said Blue, kneeling down next to me. "I'll take care of this until some one gets here."_

_There was a flurry of protests from the other three. _

_"I can use the window up there," said Blue. "But all four of us couldn't get out before the cops get here. Keep a lookout."_

_"If the others come round…" It sounded like Red._

_"They won't," said Blue, taking the shirt from Purple and pressing it against my wound with what I thought was way too much pressure. "Go."_

_And suddenly the other three vanished and I was pretty much alone with Blue._

_Closing my eyes again, I wondered what I'd done in a past life to deserve this. The job should have been an easy one, just a distraction to attract a rival gang in an old fashioned street fight. Why the freaks? _

_"You're gonna be alright," said Blue quietly. "You'll be taken to a hospital and they'll patch you up."_

_I didn't answer. Hospital sounded good, and to hell with what would happen to me after I was out of danger, assuming I didn't die before I got there. I felt woozy and light-headed and cold, all signs of excessive blood loss and going into shock. _

_"Why do you do this?"_

_I opened my eyes again and looked at Blue. "Huh?"_

_"This." He gestured to the warehouse around him. "Steal, hurt innocent people, get into gang fights. Why do you do it?"_

_"We need…to get by too. Eat…and live someplace. Need money for that."_

_"Why this way?"_

_"Respect…"_

_"Yeah, you've been treated with a lot of respect by the rest of those thugs. And you get loads of respect from the other gangs too." He looked over at something I couldn't see, the door perhaps, or the other Dragons. "This is your chance. You can get away from the Dragons, go home, find a better way of life. I'm sure your parents will be glad to see you. The hospital will call them."_

_"No…don't send me back…" But I was exhausted by then, my vision filled with black spots and the shadows growing darker. As I succumbed to whatever lay in the dark I saw vaguely the flashing red and blue of squad cars pulling up outside and felt the pressure on my arm mercifully ease as Blue left me alone, to be found by the police…_

I hadn't been able to make him understand before and I wasn't sure I could do it now, but this time at least I wasn't bleeding all over the place. "The Dragons are all I have, the only ones who give a shit about me. They always stick up for me."

"Yeah, as long as you're stealing for them."

I scowled. "You just don't get it, do ya?"

"No, I don't get it! You could have gotten away from all this, started fresh. Don't you have family, parents?"

"Sure."

"Then you already have a family, you sure as hell don't need the Dragons."

I snorted, thinking about the people I'd left behind when I left for New York…

_In the hospital, doctors trying to find my parents so they could get permission to save my life. Had to do it through fingerprints, I was in no position to tell them anything. Lucky I had a record._

_A few days after I was shot, coming around and seeing the last people I wanted to – my mom and dad. Mom looked like she might have been crying. Dad looked like he was just waiting for me to know what he was doing before he killed me._

_Police, asking questions about the Dragons. Was I a member? Did I see the vigilantes who caught them, left them to be arrested? What happened that night?_

_I lied. I told them I'd been sleeping rough, hadn't seen a thing. I woke when I heard the shots, stood up to run and been blasted. They didn't believe me, none of them – I was found inside the warehouse after all – but they could prove nothing, not when the skin on my arm was one long scar, not when my Dragon was all but obliterated. And I was a minor and they had other Dragons in custody. Better to release me to the care of my parents. _

_The bullet had passed through my arm, deep enough to wound me badly but at least it hadn't shattered bone. It hit me at about the shoulder, travelled down and exited near my elbow. Lots of rehab ahead of me because the muscles were badly damaged .Extensive plastic surgery on the scars some time in the future. More expense for the parents who hadn't seen me for nearly a year._

_I was taken home. My old room had been redecorated, typical. Instead of my posters and pictures, there was a fresh coat of paint and an air that screamed 'guest room'. They hadn't expected me to ever come home. _

_My father berated me a lot. He yelled, cursed, told me how ungrateful I was for the things they had done for me. My mother was her usual silent self, not coming to my defence even once. I was put under virtual house arrest while I waited for my arm to heal. And at night, I sometimes thought back to what Blue had said._

_"Why do you do this?"_

_"You can get away from the Dragons."_

_There was a lot of pain and a lot of time; time to think about what I really wanted. Life in the suburbs with my hard-faced, demanding parents and still-bullying brother or freedom in New York with people who put food in my mouth and a roof over my head and all they asked in return was the occasional fight or some petty theft. Yeah, I was a criminal but so what? Almost everyone is .They cheat on they're taxes, shoplift, beat up their kids, whatever. It's just a matter of degrees. I wanted to be honest with myself, because no one else was going to be. They were telling me how much better my life would be if I tried to fit in, made the effort, worked hard to be like everyone else. _

_That wasn't what I wanted. My family – my REAL family – were the people that cared about me. My real family were the Purple Dragons._

_My dad re-enrolled me in school, informing me that either he or my mom would drive me there and back each day to make sure I went and that the teachers were all well aware I was trouble. I didn't make it into the first class. We pulled up at a red light and I was out of the car and running before dad even knew what had happened, his wallet swiped while his attention was elsewhere and safe in my pocket. I heard him yell out after me as I fled down the street, knew he was going to drive after me and try to cut me off. Good thing I knew all the shortcuts where the cars couldn't go. I had after all lived there all my life. _

_I ducked into an alley, raced over the road at the other end and through a parking lot. I slowed down when I was sure I'd lost dad and made my way to an apartment where I knew I could swap the credit cards in my fathers wallet for a lift a few towns away. The ride away from home that second time was both excitement and torture. I knew I was going to be home soon, back with the Dragons and I could get a new tattoo on the undamaged arm. But the car was about a hundred years old and I felt every jolt, my wound beginning to throb the further away we got, the scars never to be repaired by the plastic surgery I'd been told I needed. I was also terrified that any moment we would be caught by the police (bad) or my father (worse)._

_I wasn't caught. I bought a bus ticket when I was dropped off, bought some food and picked another pocket. I was on the bus for New York in no time. And I've been here ever since. The Dragons welcomed me back with open arms, Dragon Face commenting that I was a tough S.O.B. for not giving them up to the cops and even Hun seeming to approve of me. Suddenly I was higher in the pecking order than I thought I'd ever be, the Dragons were proud of me and I'd taken the initiative, coming home when I could have stayed hidden. My family was proud of me. It felt good._

_I hardly thought of what Blue said to me at all…_

"I told you already, the Dragons _are_ my family. My parents don't want me – the Dragons do. I owe my loyalty to them. I _need _them." I had no idea why I was trying to explain to Blue. He would never understand. To him, the world was black and white and we were the bad guys, although what was so good about him beating us up I don't know.

"You don't _need_ people like that. They're using you to get what they want." Blue stopped, shrugged. "I know how it is to argue with your family, but sometimes you just have to let it go. You might regret it."

"I haven't argued with my _family_," I said. "Not my real family."

"You call this family? Whatever." Blue turned his back on me and walked away. I'd been expecting him to beat me up when he couldn't talk me into agreeing to leave New York and the Dragons. I remembered the pipe I still had clutched in my hand, so tightly that my knuckles had turned white and the muscles of my damaged arm were beginning to complain. I considered taking a couple of steps forward and whacking him over the back of the head with it – then I just dropped it. I doubted that I would be able to land the thing before he had it out of my hands and me out cold just like the others. Besides, I owed him one. He had saved my life after all.

"Smart move," he said without turning around, obviously hearing the pipe hit the ground.

"I owed you," I replied. "But this doesn't change anything."

"I didn't think it would," he said dryly. "Next time you Dragons try anything like this, we'll take you down."

He jumped onto a dumpster, then a fire escape, blending with the shadows until he was invisible. I thought I saw something move on the roof, but it might only have been my imagination.

There were sirens in the distance.

Hoping we had enough time to make a getaway with our freedom, if not the merchandise we came for, I did the rounds of the others, trying to bring them to consciousness. And I thought about what Blue had said, about taking us down the next time we tried something. Dragon Face was gonna be mad about this latest failure. When he felt he'd been affronted, he'd set up another job as soon as possible.

I might be running into Blue sooner than he thought. And this time, I wasn't going to hold back. Next time, the Dragons were gonna win one.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: none of the characters are mine. OK, I gave a couple of them names where they didn't before but that doesn't count.

Author Note: I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed and asked for more! You're the greatest. Especially want to thank Sassyblondexoxo because not only is her story the best thing on FF at the moment but she also introduced me to the Stealthy Stories forum, which is where I've been spending all my time. I'm actually not sure about the wisdom of this chapter, I wrote the preceding chapter as a one shot and although I like the stuff I have written, it took eight total deletes and I hope this is satisfactory. Let me know! Hit the review button at the end, tell me if you liked, hated, and most importantly, _why_ you liked or hated. I can always change stuff, or leave it as a one shot. And I have left a cliffy, but hey! Gets ya reading the next chapter right?

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Ever noticed that the days when your life changes forever, you're not really expecting much?

I can count four of them in the space of fifteen months. The day I ran away from my parents' house, I hadn't been planning it. I just got sick of the shit and blew. The day I got shot, that started out like a pretty normal day too but even now I can still remember what I had for breakfast, what I talked about and with who. The day I ran away for the second time, that was pretty spur of the moment too. Hadn't known I was gonna run until I saw my fathers wallet sticking out his back pocket and realised that was the time.

The fourth time was the same, but it linked to those other times. If I hadn't run, hadn't been shot, hadn't had my life saved by a – well, a _freak_ – the fourth time wouldn't have happened. Hell, without the first time, the others wouldn't have. Maybe my life's just out of the ordinary. I mean, I am a Purple Dragon and that's something special.

That day, I woke up late as I tend to do. The Dragons live outside the law and we do most of our business in the evening or at night. So I sleep the days away and in the winter when the sun sets early in New York, I might never see daylight. It was five thirty when I rose, took myself a shower and flipped on the TV. I planned to go out with the Dragons that night, trying to make up for the total mess we made a month or so before when one of the Turtle-freaks dropped into our party and cut through us easily – except for me. I didn't try to attack and he didn't attack me. He saved my life when I was shot and I owed him that much at least. You can bet I didn't tell the other Dragons that though. If they found out I hadn't even tried to take him down, I'd be in serious trouble. The kind of trouble that gets my head caved in for my lack of respect for my family.

My apartment must be the smallest on the planet, but I love it anyway. It consists of two rooms, one a bathroom so small that I practically have to dangle my feet in the sink when I wanna pee, the other containing everything else. Convenient in a way, if I want a midnight snack the food is about three feet from the bed, which is a foot and a half from the sofa. I took it because the landlord took it on trust that I was over eighteen and because it's on Dragon turf. Ha, the reason I never got asked to verify my age and I get to pay in cash is because it's on Dragon turf and I'm a Dragon. The privacy, the simple fact of having my own place, that always makes me feel like an independent adult.

I went over to the fridge to snag a snack for breakfast. Leftover pizza, leftover Chinese, leftover Indian, something that may once have been cheese – independence had its drawbacks and one is that I have no desire to cook or any idea where to begin. I grabbed a slice of the pizza, bought the previous evening and not gone to penicillin yet, and threw myself on the sofa. TV was the same old shit. I was watching some cartoon I've never seen before when my cell rang. One eye still on the TV, I answered it.

"H'lo?"

"We need some help here!"

That got me. Taking my mind off the TV, I realised I recognised the voice. Spike, one of the toughest Dragons there is. Why was he calling on me?

"Spike, what's going on?"

"What? It's you – shit! Wrong button! Call Dragon Face! Freak attack! We're on the corner of Second and Forty-seventh! We need some back…"

There was a noise, as if Spike had just been hit, and then the noise of an open line. Close to panicking, I disconnected and then called Dragon Face, telling him what I knew.

Dragon Face was calm but angry, and not at me. "You done good kid. We'll send 'em backup." He hung up without saying goodbye and I decided to go that way myself. I wanted to make sure the Dragons were OK, see if there was anything I could do to help.

I hurried from my apartment to Second, which was closer to me than it was to the others. I didn't know if there was anything I could do, not against the freaks that had kicked my ass so many times before, but I had to _try_. But when I approached the spot, there were three cop cars there already and I knew I was too late.

Still wary of the cops, just in case they recognised me as a runaway or a suspect in an earlier Dragon incident (and of course, I'm both), I hesitated. Stood in front of a fried chicken shop, I assessed the situation. There were cops swarming everywhere and I could see Spike being shoved into one of the cars, his hands cuffed behind his back. The cop who had hold of him was the same cop who had been in to my hospital room after I was shot, questioning me about my connection with the Dragons. The guy who knew my real name, where my parents were.

The cop turned slightly, as if he were looking in my direction. I acted immediately and mostly out of fear, ducking into an alley and praying he hadn't seen me. But that didn't help my dread. I didn't want to be sent back there again, not today, not ever again…

There was a dumpster in the alley, a fire escape above it. Without stopping to think, I pulled myself atop the dumpster and found I could just about reach the fire escape if I jumped. That was the hardest part, what with my injured arm and all, but I managed it, panic giving me strength. I managed to get to the top of the ladder just as the cop came walking past, glancing curiously down the alley and continuing on. He had seen me and obviously thought he remembered me, but he didn't know where I'd gone. That suited me fine. I made myself comfortable on the roof, determined to wait out the cops before I made my way home.

That was when I heard the noise from behind me.

I whirled around, thinking maybe it was a bird or just a random sound from the building below. I couldn't see anything. I had to be imagining things. No one was creeping up on me. That was just ridiculous. I tried to settle down again but now I was on edge. I was straining to hear what was happening but with all the noise and excitement from the street, it was hard.

"You…"

I made a high noise in my throat and spun again. Again I saw nothing. The day had gone to darkness and the roof was full of shadows, impenetrable darkness. I strained to see what, if anything was behind me. And then I saw the movement, from near the chimney that had long since been rendered obsolete. A figure emerging from the shadow it cast, a figure that hadn't even seemed to be there a second ago.

"Blue!"

He walked slowly toward me and I could tell something wasn't right with him. He was usually so full of energy but at that moment he seemed tired, slow. At least his swords were safely put away. I wasn't gonna get skewered right away, but at the same time I was afraid. Blue didn't seem so well but I knew he could still get the drop on me if I made a move against him.

Blue staggered a few more paces toward me then dropped to his knees. The vantage point gave me a view of his head, where there was a nasty lump growing. Of course, I didn't know how freaks responded to that kind of thing, but from the way he was acting it seemed it was as bad for them as it was for us.

"Blue…" I went to him, knelt down beside him to show I wasn't a threat. "What happened?"

"Dragon managed…hit me."

I groaned my frustration out loud. The one thing I should never forget is that _I am a Purple Dragon_. I owe a loyalty to my family and they owed a big time payback to the freak for all the insults and injuries him and his kind had inflicted on us. I knew what I _should_ do. I should call Dragon Face and tell him there was an injured Turtle-man on the roof, let him deal with the payback and receive some kudos for the whole thing. That would be smart. That would be what a Dragon should do.

But…this freak saved my life. He didn't have to, could have left me to bleed to death on the floor of the warehouse, but he didn't. And much as I tried to tell myself that I had already repaid my debt to him when I didn't try to attack him the last time we met, I knew that was bullshit. The Dragons have a code of honour. We protect those who protect us. OK, so he never protected me but he saved my life. Maybe that means something too. And although it would mean lying to the Dragons, I couldn't leave him there. The cops were everywhere, he hardly seemed to know where he was and there was no sign of the other Turtle-men. No one else was going to help him.

Snaking my hand beneath his armpit and around his – shell? – I helped him to his feet. "Come on Blue. We can't stay here too long."

"Where…"

"My place. You don't have to worry; I ain't gonna call on the Dragons. Come on." I took off my baseball cap and shoved it on his head, then took off my jacket and gave it to him. It wasn't that long and showed his legs to anyone who cared to look closely enough, but I thought it would do as long as we stayed as far out of sight as possible. He looked strange but less conspicuous than a green man with swords strapped to a shell would be.

He was disoriented, but he still seemed to know a lot about the whole disappearing thing. I was almost seen a whole lot of times and that usually wouldn't bug me but when you're taking an enemy of the family to your place, you should _not_ be noticed. Fortunately, it was as if he had a sixth sense, pulling me into the shadows whenever someone was going to cross our path. It was slow going, but we got to my apartment by making our way through alleys and quietest streets. I was _terrified_. I kept imagining what would happen if any of the Dragons saw me with Blue, what they would say…or worse, if they saw me and didn't confront me immediately, let me think I'd got away with it and then turn up at my door, asking questions I couldn't answer. That would be the end of me. I spent the whole trip home asking myself what the hell I thought I was doing, putting myself in danger just because of some imagined debt I had to a freak?

When we got to my apartment block, my doubts intensified. How the hell was I going to get him in? There was always some one on the stairs, in and out of each others apartments, just hanging around. Not all of them were Dragons but several of them were and not all of them would be at the meeting tonight or out on jobs. In the end I made him wait in the alley beside the apartment block and went in myself through the front. I almost screamed when one of the other Dragons exited just as I was walking in.

"You OK?" He looked at me strangely. "You look terrible. Did you go out without a jacket in this weather?"

I took a deep breath and tried to act normal, not jumpy and worried. "I got a call from Spike. They got taken down tonight."

"Shit. The freaks?"

"Think so. Cops were cuffin 'em when I got there. Think I might skip the meeting tonight. Don't feel so good."

"I'm not surprised. It's about a zillion degrees below." He shook his head in wonder. "Spike. Thought he was too smart to get caught."

"Me too." I waved a goodbye and hurried up the stairs to my apartment. When I got in, I double-locked the doors and put on the chain before leaning against it and giving a huge sigh. So far, so good. But it wasn't over yet. I went over to the window and opened it wide, going out onto the fire escape and looking around. I couldn't see Blue anywhere and for a moment I thought he'd gone. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't relieved. That was short lived though, I saw a blur of movement and knew he was making his way up the fire escape. It should have been impossible to hide on a ladder, but it was hard to make him out. I was impressed. As confused as he seemed to be, he still knew how to mask his presence.

I helped him through the window and glanced around my tiny apartment in despair. Oh lord; I didn't know what to _do_ with him. I owed him for saving my life, but who knew it could be so complicated? In the end, I steered him toward the sofa and made him sit down.

"Uh…" I hadn't thought this far ahead. He sprawled on the seat, letting his head hang back and his eyes close. I had no idea how to proceed from here. "Don't suppose you know what to do with a concussion, do ya?"

He sniggered, still not opening his eyes. "My brother usually deals with all that. I don't think you're supposed to go to sleep and you stay out of the dojo for a few days."

"What the hell is a dojo?" I ran a hand through my hair and thought back to other incidents when the Dragons had been injured. "Uh…if you puke, you get sent to the doctors. And I guess I should check your pupils to see if they're dilated. Except you don't have any."

"Yeah, I do." He pulled his mask off and opened his eyes. He did have pupils too. When they wear the masks, it looks like they have nothing but whites. That's freaky, but knowing it's an illusion is kind of a comfort. I looked at his eyes, but since I didn't have a clue what I was looking for, I decided it must be alright.

It was the first time I had ever seen one of them in the light, in a non-battle situation, and I couldn't help trying to make as many observations as I could. He was male, that much proved by the voice. I had no idea how old he might be, but piecing together earlier conversations I figured he might be about my age, or maybe just naïve. He was both muscled and scarred, suggesting he trained hard and that he was used to fighting. The last one didn't make me comfortable, let me tell you.

"I think you're alright." I tried to sound reassuring. "You know who and where you are?"

"Sure." He blinked, looking sleepy. "But I feel weird. I don't feel like I can move. Or if I do, it's like walking through treacle."

"Shit Blue! You can't stay here!" I spoke aloud without meaning to.

Blue let his eyes close again. "Why? Coz the Dragons won't understand?"

"Exactly! You're an enemy and I should be turning you in, not hiding you."

"Leonardo."

"What?"

"My name isn't Blue. It's Leonardo, or Leo."

"What…oh, I see." I gave the freak in front of me another look. He had a name and he had mentioned his brothers, presumably the other freaks. Perhaps it was to make me feel sorry for him…for _it_. "What does your name matter? Shit, why didn't I think this through? What am I gonna do?"

"Contact my brothers. They'll come over and we'll be out of your hair."

"Oh, great!" I laughed in what I hoped was a sarcastic way. "Are you listed in the phone book? Turtles R us? Or should I just look under _Leo_?"

He moved his hands, reaching into his belt for something and coming up empty handed. "I lost my shell-cell when I was fighting the Dragons. It must be in the alley."

_Oh no_, I thought.

"It must still be there. If you could get it…"

"Blue, are you _insane_? There are cops all over the place; I told one of the Dragons I was ill and it'd mean leaving you _here_, in _my_ apartment, going through _my_ stuff…"

"_Leo_. Not Blue. I told you." He pulled his head up with an effort. "I give you my word of honour that I won't go through your things. I just…I need to get home. I can't do that without my shell-cell. Can you find it for me?"

What could I do? I needed him out of my apartment, away from me, this night forgotten. This was me paying back my debt and getting back to my life, one where the Turtle-men dropped in and kicked our asses, not expected shelter. I had to get him out of here and if going back was my only option, then I'd have to go back.

"I come back and catch anything out of place…" I gave my warning as I swung my legs over the fire escape. Then I thought of something else. "And if those other Turtle-men hurt me…"

Leo opened his eyes and looked at me, giving me a weak grin. "I promise, I'll tell my brothers how you helped me and they won't hurt you."

"They better not," I grumbled, going out of the fire escape. I'm not a vanishing artist like Blue but I thought it would be easier than meeting some one on the stairs and telling a lie. This way, I might never have left the building. I didn't need the Dragons knowing _anything_ about tonight, save that I went out to see if I could help Spike and the others without my jacket and got a cold.

It was easier getting back to the alley without Blue, because although I looked like a thug, I didn't look like a freak. The occasional funny look, accompanied by purses and wallets clutched tighter, was all that I attracted. By the time I got to the alley, the cops were gone and I could slope in unnoticed.

For a few minutes, I couldn't see the damn phone. I searched the gutter, the corners, the floor…there was nothing. With a sigh, I leant against a wall and tried to see how it might have gone down.

_Blue jumps down into the alley, swords out, shell-cell tucked into his belt. He was outnumbered, but he fought well, slashing at the Dragons, barely noticing when a deflected blow to his side knocked his phone flying…_

I thought about where Blue might have been when that happened. I imagined not too far from where he began, when the Dragons were fresh and not tired, trying to guess the trajectory. If he was _here_, it must have flown upwards and hit the wall just about _here_…

In the gloom, I saw something. Picking it up, I knew I was right, the green shell design giving it away. This was the cell that Blue – Leo – had been talking about. This was the way I could get him out of my apartment.

I debated using it right then. Just saying, "Hey, your brother's OK. Can you pick him up at this address?" In the end, I decided to take it back. Leo could talk and let them know he wasn't hurt and I could maybe get him away from there before he was aware enough to realise where it was that I lived.

I had the weirdest feeling that I was being watched. It made me hurry to get home, up the fire escape and into my apartment. Leo wasn't where I'd left him, but I could hear the gurgling noise from the bathroom that suggested the sink was running and he was having a wash. I wondered if I should wait and then decided not to. He had been a mess before he went into the bathroom and by the time his brothers got to where I had planned as a drop off point, he might even have forgotten where I lived. Good stuff.

I played with the shell-cell a little, trying to work out how it worked – then it began making noises and I heard it ringing on the other end. I was hoping for Purple, who had seemed kind, or even Orange who had hurt me before, but during a fight and had helped Blue to help me. Please not Red. Red seemed like a bastard. Please not Red…

"Leo?"

Shit. Red.

"Uh, no, but he's OK! Don't panic…"

"Purple Dragon scum! Where's my brother?"

"The thing is, uh, I…can't I talk to one of your brothers?"

"You're gonna be SO sorry, ya damn…"

I leaned against the still-open window frame and sighed. "Look, Red, I ain't gonna hurt him, I just wanna find somewhere I can leave him so you can pick…"

The space behind me suddenly erupted.

One moment my head had been resting on the window frame, nothing against my back because the window was open, the space just below my butt against the sill. The next, I was flying forward, the shell-cell out of my reach, my brain still trying to catch up enough to yell.

I managed to turn mid-fall, so I landed on my side instead of my stomach and managed to turn mostly to my back before a tremendous weight pressed on my chest, almost smothering me. Before I could utter a sound, a hand clamped across my mouth, bearing down cruelly, almost choking me. I could feel something sharp sticking against my throat and I just knew it was a knife, knew that I had been seen, knew that the Dragons knew that I had betrayed them and now I was going to pay the price…


	3. Chapter 3

Hey all! Thought I'd give an answer to one of the most commonly asked questions regarding this fic – well, an answer of sorts. I deliberately didn't give the character a name, or a gender. When I wrote the first part, I wanted the Dragon to be a guy but when I write in the first person, I'm concerned that I come off as a girl (which of course I am). To counter this, I kept it ambiguous and in the following chapters I decided to keep up the style. Hard to write, but more fun!

As always, my thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter.

&&&&&&&&&

The hand clamped over my mouth also managed to cut off most of my air and although I was squirming, trying to escape, there was no way I could free myself. A combination of the light shining directly into my eyes and my slowly darkening vision meant I couldn't tell who it was, but he looked almost – green?

I did the only thing I could think of. I managed to open my mouth enough to catch some flesh between my teeth and bit down. Hard.

The person atop me grunted. "Take out the teeth." His voice was cold, determined. A moment later I felt the blade at my throat dig in, not enough to break the flesh but enough to prove that was definitely an option. "Or else."

_Screw that_ I thought, biting down harder. If I was gonna die, I wanted them to know I fought. My hands were useless, held to the floor above my head by one hand. Similarly, I couldn't even kick the guy because he was resting all his weight on my upper torso. Fight my way free? Hell, I could barely even breathe…

"RAPH!"

_Blue?_

"Let go! Now!"

The pressure from my chest eased and the blade was taken from my throat. I spat out the hand and some blood as whoever was bearing down on me stood. I took the moment to breathe, still believing it was the Purple Dragons come for me and Leo only removing their attention for a moment.

"Leo? You're OK?"

"Leo!"

"Don't scare us like that!"

The other voices came as a surprise. I didn't realise I wasn't all alone with my attacker and Blue in the bathroom. Blinking, I managed to bring the room into focus and sat up. A few seconds later, Leo was sat in front of me, looking concerned.

"You OK?"

"Fine!" I rubbed my chest and glared at him. "What's happening?"

"We were, uh, following a signal." I glanced around and flinched. Purple was stood behind me. Where the hell did he come from? "The shell-cells all have trackers built in."

"But Leo's signal ended at the alley," added another voice – Orange. The size of my apartment, how did they all fit in? "So we waited in case something happened."

"And you came and got the cell," finished Purple.

I stood, thinking about the various reasons why I should never have gotten involved. "I owed Blue for saving my life. Now we're even. Get the hell out of my apartment."

"Not so fast."

I turned and looked at Red, still nursing his bleeding hand. I'd done that, biting him when he jumped me. Made me proud actually. He treated me like a pushover but I wasn't.

"Problem, Red?"

"How do we know you didn't alert the Dragons to us? Or the Foot? How do we know you're being straight with us?"

I glanced over at Leo, who had gone back to resting on the couch, Purple looking at his injuries. "Ya don't know Red, OK? Maybe this is one ya just take on trust. Because I didn't turn in your brother when he was passing out on a roof and an easy target, maybe because you're all in my apartment and no one knows about it, maybe ya should all just _give me a break_!"

The Turtle-men all turned and gave me startled looks.

I got up and started pacing. "Maybe you haven't thought about _me_. If the Dragons find out about this, I'm toast! I sheltered an enemy! And if anyone finds out about it, I'm _history_. So stop yelling at me about what I might do from here on in and start thinking! Ya know where I live. Know who I am. Know everything about me…why the _hell_ would I advertise to the Dragons that you were here? _Think_!"

"Good point," said Orange grudgingly.

"So get the hell out of here and I'll see you next time we rip off a warehouse." I tried to sound tough, I really did. To my ears, I wound up sounding petulant. "I helped Blue – Leo. Leave me alone."

Orange gave me a funny look. "What happens if the Dragons find out about this?"

"You dumbass! What do you think? I get major trouble!"

"So…why did you help?"

"I dunno! I guess I thought I owed him something. Not this much though! If the Dragons find out that I helped you…" I shuddered, thinking of the consequences. "None of you are allowed to tell. Leo, you promised!"

"You're OK. We won't tell." Leo stood and put a hand on my shoulder.

I shook it off, still pretty upset about Red knocking me out in my own apartment and nearly smothering me after all I did was help out his brother.

Leo sighed and looked to his brothers for help. None was forthcoming, so he tried again. "You're in way over your head with the Dragons."

"I…" How to rebut that? He was right. "I'll be fine, _Leo_. My family are gonna look after me. If you guys go and leave me alone, I can fix this mess. Like it never happened. You have my permission to hit me in the head the next time you drop in on us, just like Purple did at the warehouse."

"My name is Donatello," said Purple.

"I don't care what your name is!" I looked around agitatedly. Leo was standing beside Purple – excuse me, _Donatello_ – Red was sat on the arm of the sofa in such a manner that I knew he could be up and kicking ass in about a quarter of a second and Orange was stood between me and the window. I pointed at Blue – sorry, Leo. "You said you'd go and leave me alone when your brothers got here! So _go_ already!"

"Kinda agitated, aincha?" Red was balancing one of his weapons on his fingers. "No one knows we're here right? Maybe we wanna clear out your fridge."

"So clear it and GO!"

"He was only joking," explained Orange.

"I don't care! Go away!"

"Hey." Orange caught one of my flailing arms and held it. "My name's Michelangelo – Mikey. Maybe we can help you."

"You can help me by leaving!"

"We have a friend who's looking for some one to work in her store. You can keep your place and have a proper job. Interested?"

"Yeah, with all of the Dragons knowing where I am and me _wanting_ to be a Dragon! I'm happy where I am! Just get out of here!"

"Leave it be Mikey," said Red as he headed for the fire escape. "This one's a Dragon for life and we'll find the corpse next week or next month or next year. Let's go home."

"Wait!"

I don't know why I said it and neither did they. They gave me a curious look and I took a deep breath. "If it means anything to you, I don't want the Dragons to take you down. I owed you and now we're even."

"So we'll leave and forget we were ever here." Red went over to the window and leapt out.

"Asshole," I muttered.

Leo was next to the window. But before he went, he looked at me "Thank you."

"I must be a complete idiot, helping you." But I softened a little. "Look, I'm glad you're gonna be OK. I've paid ya back, so now we're even."

"I thought you said we were even the last time," he said.

"I lied," I said. "But this time I'm telling the truth. Don't come looking for me the next time you're in the shit."

"Look…" He glanced at the floor before looking at me. "You change you're mind about leaving the Dragons, we can help you out."

"I'm not changing my mind." I managed a half-smile. "See ya next time ya try busting our skulls."

With a shrug, Blue exited the window, followed by Purple and Orange went last. Suddenly I was alone, just as I'd wanted.

I let out a shaky breath. It hadn't gone as badly as I thought it might. The important thing was that I hadn't been caught harbouring a Turtle and the Dragons didn't suspect a thing.

I went to the window and slammed it shut.

&&&&&&&&&

It was almost a week later when I came close to giving myself away.

One of the other Dragons, Multi, was at my apartment. He brought over some beers for us and a couple of slasher flicks. I'd been out on a couple of jobs since my encounter with Blue and I'd been nervous as hell, waiting for them to drop in on us. They hadn't done though. Multi was regaling me with a tale about a gang that tried to muscle in on him and two other Dragons as they did a job. There was a lot more witty banter than I thought Multi was capable of in the story, but what the hell. If he wanted to make himself sound good, who was I to burst his bubble?

Multi leaned forward to grab himself a beer and dropped back onto the sofa much too heavily. It slid backward a couple of inches. I had been messing with the TV, trying to swap the SCART from the games console for the one on the DVD player and when I turned, I saw something that turned me cold.

Leo's shell-cell was lying about an inch from Multi's left boot.

I'd lost my grip on it when Red jumped me. It must have skittered under the couch and Blue had forgotten about it. He hadn't been back for it, meaning he'd probably decided to call it a loss. The damn thing was probably all out of charge anyway. It wasn't gonna start ringing and give me away…I hoped.

I spent almost an hour in a state of low grade terror. Every time Multi moved, I thought he was gonna kick the damn thing and work out what it was. That shell design was a dead giveaway. I could lie like a champion, but what kind of lie would cover why I had it? Why I hadn't given it to Dragon Face straight away? I barely even saw the first half of the film.

Eventually, Multi got up and asked me to pause the film while he took a leak. The second the door to the bathroom closed, I leant over and snatched the damn thing up, racing over to the bed and shoving it in a drawer, beneath a pile of seldom worn shirts. I ran back over to the sofa and vaulted over the back, my butt landing on the cushion just as Multi flushed the toilet. I tried to act nonchalant as he came out and I think I pulled it off – by this time, he'd drunk quite a lot. But for the rest of the evening, I couldn't get my mind off the damn phone.

By the time Multi left, I was pretty far gone myself. As soon as he was out of the door, I bolted it behind him and grabbed the shell-cell from the drawer, turning it over in my hands. I was beginning to feel like I was leading a double life. On the one hand I had my family; on the other hand I was protecting their enemies. Except I wasn't really choosing anymore – if I didn't continue to protect the turtles, I would be dropping myself in the shit right along with them.

The phone rang.

Startled, I threw the shell-cell on the bed and stared at it in shock. It took a few seconds before I realised it wasn't Blue's phone making the noise, but my own from across the room. Cursing my jumpiness, I went over and snatched it up.

"Yeah?"

"You busy?" Jez, another Dragon who lived in my building.

"Nah. What's up?"

"You wanna go out on a job tonight? Got a tip about a shop with a busted security system."

"Selling?"

"Liquor store. You in?"

"You bet." Suddenly I was sick of being alone with my worries. I wanted to go out and do something, get that adrenaline rush that only comes through getting away with the things we do. Maybe even get to bust some heads, depending on if any other gangs had heard of the faulty alarm. Anything was better than sitting here, thinking about what the freaks had said.

I met Jez right outside my door and off we went. Store was hardly any distance away at all, on the verge of Dragon territory. Dangerous stuff. If we screwed up it would be an embarrassment and also advertise to rival gangs that we had a weakness and that part of the territory was up for grabs. But if we pulled it off, our zone grew more powerful. I was already on edge but in a good way. It was the excitement of doing something daring, something extreme, dodging the law and laughing at the people who thought they could stop us.

Sure enough, the shop was protected by locks alone, the alarm flashing but not going off when we opened the doors. Just four of us tonight, me, Jez and two other guys. Three to carry the haul and one driver to stay in the van with the engine running. Piece of cake really. Couldn't afford to be too long, so all we do is spring the locks on the side door, repeat on the door to the storeroom and take out the boxes. Leave the stuff on the shelves, it takes forever. And that's what we were doing, we hadn't even been there five minutes and we were almost done…

"Look at this."

_Oh SHIT,_ I thought, dropping the box I was carrying and hoping the noise didn't carry. The last thing you need is to attract attention through the sound of broken glass, even if you are in a commercial instead of a residential area. That might not matter though; the sounds of a fight are even more likely to persuade concerned citizens to call the cops. And there _was_ about to be a fight. That was Red's voice.

Four of them and four of us. The odds sucked. But you can't let something like that stop you or you'd never stop running, always be afraid of whoever was just waiting to take you down.

Make that three of us. The driver must have looked in his rear mirror and seen what was going on because he trod on the accelerator and took off with a screech of tyres, leaving the rest of us behind to face the Turtles. I stared after him in shock, hardly able to believe he'd just ditched us, left us with no transport when we were in serious shit.

The Turtles stood in a row; Purple, Blue, Orange, Red. None of them making a move until the van drove off in a cloud of exhaust fumes and that making Red's mouth twitch into what looked like a smile, although it was hard to tell in the gloom. "Nice to see how you look out for each other."

I stood frozen to the spot. Did they recognise me? It was pretty dark but…yeah, I thought they did. Blue had glanced once at me before turning his attention to all of us as a group and Orange kept shooting me looks, no actor he. I willed them not to give me away.

Jez had turned from the Turtles when the van roared off, but at Red's comment he spun back around with a snarl. "_Get them_!"

This was it. Freaks or family.

_Choose._

I chose.

I pulled the pipe from my back pocket, baggy jeans having a definite advantage in the weapon-stashing department, and raised it above my head, running forward with the other Dragons and aiming straight for Red. I wouldn't have admitted it for anything, but the others had been half-way OK to me and if I was going to do this, there was only one of them that I had an issue with. But we were at more of a disadvantage than usual, outnumbered and outclassed. Red caught the pipe between the prongs of his weapon and with a flick of his wrist sent it flying into a corner of the alley. A kick to the ribs sent me stumbling backwards, straight into someone else. I never did find out whom. A hand grabbed my neck and pressed down expertly on a nerve and the next thing I knew, the world had gone black.

I wasn't out for more than a couple of minutes. I woke up to find myself eating pavement, the other two Dragons in groaning heaps nearby and both of them in a much worse state than me. I rubbed the nerve in my neck, which was sending occasional stabs of pain radiating to my head and shoulders. Of the Turtles there was no sign.

I sat up, blinking stupidly and tried to get my bearings. The side door to the shop was still open, the box I had dropped leaking vodka across the floor. The van hadn't returned for us. And in the distance but growing closer, I could hear sirens.

"Oh shit!"

I shook Jez into some semblance of consciousness. "Cops are coming! Move!"

"Damn!" Jez stood up, almost tripping over the other Dragon who was also getting slowly to his feet. "Scatter. Meet me back at the warehouse."

Seeing the flashing lights that signified the cops in the mouth of the alley I nodded, turning and running to the end of the alley. There was a ten foot wall, but beside that some trash cans and a dumpster. A running start got me onto the trash can, then the dumpster and I just about managed to get my arms hooked at the top of the wall. Scrambling with my feet, I shoved myself onto the wall and then fell over the other side, landing heavily on the ground. _Great, _I thought to myself. _Just like Takeshi's castle but less graceful_.

Standing up again, hoping I hadn't been seen jumping the wall, I limped further into the alley. I was trying to work out exactly where I was in relation to the Dragons meeting place when I heard the voice behind me.

"You! Stop where you are!"

I glanced behind me and saw a cop peeking over the top of the wall, evidently standing on the dumpster. Immediately I broke into a sprint, hearing him scramble over the wall more easily than I had. But I had a head start and as I raced out of the alley I saw the cop from the corner of my eye land on his feet in the alley, step on a discarded pizza box and land straight on his backside. Fleeing across the street, expecting to hear his pursuit at any time, I ducked into another alley, up a nearby fire escape, across the roof, down the one at the other side of the building, over a chain link fence. I was lost, scared and nearing the end of my stamina. My heart was stuck in my throat. My legs were trying to tremble and my butt ached where I'd landed on it. The beers I drank earlier in the evening were making themselves known and I wondered if I'd escape the cop so I could stop to throw them back up.

A few steps away from the fence, I turned off into yet another alley, this one short and used mainly for dumping trash, before I had to stop, physically unable to run any further. I leant heavily against the wall, my legs giving out and forcing me to sit on what was fortunately a relatively debris-free piece of floor. I rested my head on my knees, trying to get my breath back without actually inhaling. The alley smelled really bad.

When I had sufficiently regained my composure and my heart rate was back to normal, I decided the cop wasn't coming after me. I couldn't help but wonder about the others too and swore vengeance on the coward who had run out on us. Then I realised I had another problem. I worked out where I was – not on Dragon turf but on the territory of a rival gang. Great. Just great. Attacked by Turtles, chased by cops and now about to get my head caved in. Life _sucked_.

I knew going back the way I came wasn't an option so I tried sneaking back to Dragon turf another way. I managed it without incident, ducking into side streets and doorways whenever I heard some one coming. I guess it didn't hurt that I didn't look like a Dragon right then. After waking up on an alley floor, taking a tumble into another alley and then collapsing in an exhausted heap in a third, I looked more like the homeless runaway I used to be than a tough street thug. I couldn't shake the feeling I was being watched but I put it down to paranoia on being out of my own territory.

Finally, I got back to Dragon turf and breathed a sigh of relief, trying to stick to the shadows anyway in case there were cops cruising and making my way to the warehouse. The van was parked right outside and I felt a surge of fury at the guy who had drove away without us. There was a guard on the door wielding a pipe and I gave him the salute as I entered, barely able to unclench my fist to do so, snatching the pipe from him as I walked past. He wrinkled his nose and chuckled, evidently recognising me and sensing trouble.

I stormed toward the car and as I did the driver exited the warehouse, smirking and accepting the congratulations of Dragon Face on his haul. His face changed as I approached and he held up his hand in a placatory gesture. Before he could say anything, I swung the pipe low and caught him in the guts with the end. He doubled over, groaning. I slammed my elbow on the top of his head and he fell to his knees. Several other Dragons gathered around, looking on in interest.

This might sound odd to the uninitiated but trust me, it's normal practice. Every newbie has to prove themselves able to fight or what use are they? And if a Dragon is betrayed, it's acceptable for them to take retribution in this way. And I felt betrayed.

"You left us to get taken down by the freaks!" I clenched the pipe hard with both hands, not feeling my weakened arm right then although the muscles would be singing merry hell later on that night. "You could have run them over or something, at least waited for us to get into the van! You cowardly _shit_!"

Dragon Face gave the driver an interested stare. "That true?"

"Thought the…haul was…important." The driver wheezed, still clutching his gut. I'm not surprised, I put all my strength into that hit and I'd be lying if I said it didn't feel good. The one to the top of the head was just to get him down, but hell, I enjoyed that one too.

"I'm _through_ with this shit!" I threw the pipe to the floor defiantly. "If we don't watch each others back then what the hell is the point of being with the Dragons? I might as well be out on my own!"

"Calm down." Dragon Face regarded me coldly. "Go home, take a shower. You'll feel differently tomorrow."

I doubted it, but what the hell else could I do? I turned and took my garbage-smelling, bruised and beaten butt hack home. On the way out, I passed Jez going to the warehouse and gave him a half-wave. He asked me if the driver was there and I nodded, not bothering to tell him I already gave him a pasting. I put my hands in my pockets and kept my head hanging low, but I didn't pass many people and the ones I did see avoided me like the plague. When I got to my apartment I stripped off and got straight into the shower, staying in there for almost an hour, still convinced I stank. And all that time, I was thinking.

This wasn't what I'd been looking for when I ran away. I hadn't wanted to spend my nights getting the crap kicked out of me and being abandoned by my so-called family. Yeah, he was gonna get it from Dragon Face for leaving us behind, but that didn't seem like enough. I'd supported the Dragons, given everything I had to give, been shot by one of them and what did I get in return? Not acceptance or appreciation, but left in an alley to be beaten up and then arrested. Screw that. _Screw_ that. I'd had enough. I was through with the Dragons as of right now.

I got out of the shower and dressed in a hurry, throwing on jeans and a shirt. Then I grabbed a bag and started throwing clothes in it, not bothering to pick and choose. Much as I loved my apartment, I couldn't stay there anymore. Not when I was planning on running out on the Dragons. They'd come here looking for me. The most logical thing to do was get the hell away from New York for a while, try my luck somewhere else. Maybe LA? But I guessed the 'where' didn't matter. If I was gonna run, it had to be _now_, before anyone realised I was going.

Clothes packed, I grabbed the shell-cell and put that in there too. As a souvenir, just to prove it really happened. Not really thinking, I threw in a few other bits and got my secret stash of cash from inside a book. It wasn't a lot but it would have to do for now. There's always an opportunity for a talented pickpocket on the road. That done, I grabbed my leather trench coat, thanking the patron saint of petty thugs that I hadn't been wearing it tonight and it didn't stink, topping off the look with a baseball cap. I needed to look inconspicuous and that meant hiding my purple-dyed hair. And that, I thought, was that. With a final glance around my apartment, I pulled open the door.

Dragon Face was waiting outside the apartment door. There were four other Dragons with him. None of them looked pleased to see me.

"Going somewhere?"

I gulped. "Uh, to the launderette?"

One of the Dragons snatched the bag from me and yanked the zipper open, emptying the contents across the floor. My clothes fell out in an untidy heap.

"No one leaves the Dragons," said Dragon Face. "You're not running off to the cops and spilling ya guts."

"Dragon Face! Look at this!"

The guy going through my stuff held up what he'd found. The goddamn shell-cell. Why the hell had I decided to keep it? Why hadn't I thrown it out of the window?

Dragon Face gave me a sinister look. "Been keeping secrets? Made yourself some little green friends? Telling them _tales_?" The last word was accompanied by a sucker-punch to the gut. I nearly fell, but one of the other Dragons grabbed my weak arm and held me upright. I struggled not to puke, not to panic. This was it. This was the end.

I was screwed.


	4. Chapter 4

Author Note: Apologies for the time it took to put this chapter up – I was struck down with the dreaded writers block and I also came up with another story that was screaming for my attention. The other story is 'Choosing Destiny' and is rated M. If you enjoy 'Blue' you'll love it, so go check it out! I compel you! Ahem. Anyway, this is the penultimate chapter, the next will be an epilogue and then this story will be done…not bad considering it was supposed to be a one-shot. Thank you as always to everyone who reviewed!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing! Oh, except the narrator. But none of the good characters.

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My favourite Dragon hangout has always been a warehouse bang in the middle of our territory, one of several similar ones but this one is where all my best memories are stored. A makeshift fighting ring in the centre of the floor, benches around the outside, just a place to go and watch a fight, or get into a fight if there were any issues that needed resolving between any of us. In the time since I ran away from home for the first time, I'd spent many a happy night in there, a beer in one hand, a smoke in the other, laughing it up with the other Dragons, swapping dirty jokes or maybe conversing about jobs we'd done. One night I'd gotten so wasted that when Spike tried to drive us home in a stolen sports car and crashed it into a wall, I hadn't been able to stop laughing. It was the first place I went to announce to the other Dragons that I'd recovered from my shooting and was back in New York and they'd all welcomed me home, telling me how tough I was, what a credit to the Dragon moniker. Outside of my apartment, it was the place I loved best in the whole city.

Now I was there again, not laughing with the others, not drinking a cold one and waiting for the entertainment. It was daytime for a start and I'd never been there before nightfall. I was hurting, that was another thing. Not like when I passed my final initiation – I'd been hurt then but not too badly, some bruises and scrapes for the most part and I'd broken my little finger catching a chain with a pipe that had somehow caught a glancing blow to my hand. That had been a fight. This had been a massacre. There's only so much you can do to protect yourself when you're unable to fight back.

Dragon Face had got his posse to bundle me into a van outside my apartment and although I'd tried to make a break for it once we were on the street, I hadn't even managed to get free of my captors. If anyone had seen me being taken, they hadn't done anything about it. It had been on Dragon turf after all. When we got to the warehouse, I hadn't even tried to flee; the grip on my arms was too tight. I'd been taken into the building and through to a back room which might once have been some kind of office but was now bereft of anything save for a steel bracket embedded in the wall. A chain had been looped twice around the bracket and then cuffed to my wrists. There was no way I could pick the lock on the cuffs, couldn't break the chain, couldn't free the bracket from the wall. I was helpless, at the mercy of my former family.

That was when the questions had started.

Questions about the Turtles, where they lived, how much I'd told them, what their weakness was. I stuck to the same story – I'd found the shell-cell that night and taken it for a souvenir, I hadn't ever spoken to them except to hurl abuse during fights, I'd been planning just to leave New York and not turn the Dragons in. Instinctively I knew I couldn't change my story, no matter what happened. If I admitted what I _did_ know, which wasn't much in any case, they'd assume I was still holding out on them. This way, they might just believe me. Not that I thought I'd get away with trying to run, but at least I might get through the night with my life. If I was lucky.

I didn't feel lucky.

Every time I gave an answer they didn't like, I'd receive another blow. A kick, a punch. At one point Dragon Face stamped on my left hand and broke three fingers. Still, I stuck to my story, not willing to give them the satisfaction of finding me out in a lie. I'd put my trust in the wrong people and I might have found out too late to do anything to help myself, but damned if I was going to break. So I kept insisting I knew nothing, snuffling through a nose full of blood and wheezing when one brutal kick ignited a fire throughout my ribcage. By the time I was left alone, I couldn't have stood up if they'd undone the cuffs, left the door open and told me to be gone in the next five minutes or else. I lay in a world of my own pain, tears leaking from the corners of my eyes, curled into a foetal position and wishing there was something I could do. I'd never in my life felt so powerless to help myself, not even when I was at the mercy of my bullying brother and the parents who looked the other way. Back then there had been something I could do – run. Now, I couldn't even do that.

The door was locked from the outside, but it made no difference. The chain was too short to reach that far anyway and there was nothing for me to use to free myself from it. And if I could by some miracle leave the room, I was a damn mess. There was no way I could get out of the warehouse undetected and then through blocks of Dragon turf. And if I did, then what? No money, no place to go, no one to turn to for help.

I had to face facts. I was screwed six ways to Sunday.

Lying against the wall, I fell into something that was closer to unconsciousness than sleep. There was less pain in that way, less fear. I knew what the Dragons had in store for me. I had betrayed them. Right now they would be going through the apartment, tearing it apart looking for evidence that I had colluded with their enemies. I had stuck to my story and they wouldn't find anything so maybe I would be put forward at the meeting that evening as a coward, willing to run out on them just to save my own skin. In that case it would be open season on me. Dumped in the middle of the ring in the state I was in, any Dragon who wanted to get a lick in would be able. None of the people I used to hang out with would argue my corner – hell, they'd probably be first in line. But if they said I was a spy for their enemies, as I suspected they would, then things would run differently. Taking me out would be an honour to be fought over and I would have a great view of what lengths my former friends would go to just to be the one to cave my head in. I had visions of my beaten, bloated corpse surfacing in the East River, scaring the crap out of some passing patrol boat…

_This one's a Dragon for life and we'll find the corpse next week or next month or next year…_

_Dammit Red, why did you have to be right?_

There was a noise outside the door, metal scraping against wood and a clang, as if the steel bar holding it in place had been removed. I turned my head to see who it was and instantly wished I hadn't. A huge shadow blocked out the light and I didn't need him to come into focus again to realise who it was.

Hun.

He smirked at me, cracking his knuckles. I knew that just one of those giant hands would enclose my face easily, that he could pick me up with just one of those muscled arms. I had a vision of myself dangling helplessly, moments before he snapped my neck like a twig, the other Dragons looking on and roaring their approval.

"I…I told Dragon Face everything I know," I said, knowing the fear was evident in my cracked voice. I didn't care. I just didn't want him to hurt me.

"It doesn't matter," he said in that gravely voice, sounding smug and satisfied. "I just wanted you to know – tonight, you're all mine. Those freaks have been a thorn in my side for long enough. If you are a spy, losing you should bring them out of hiding and we'll be ready for them."

"I just _found_ it!" My voice was high and tearful. "I'm not a spy! I _swear_!"

Hun chuckled, the good humour in the tone somehow more chilling than the malice that was also there. "As I said, it doesn't matter. If you have no connection to the freaks, there's still sport to be had. You were running out on us. No one _ever_ runs out on the Purple Dragons."

I didn't want to break down in front of Hun, but knowing I was going to die that night sent a bolt of terror through me. He didn't acknowledge my panicked face though, merely walked back out of the door and secured it behind him. His footsteps hadn't even died away before I snapped, yelling for help and dragging at the chain that fastened me to the walls with all the strength my beaten body could muster. I bit at the cuffs, shouting until I was hoarse, pleading and promising and begging. But no one came to the door and my teeth were no match for the cold steel circling my wrists. Eventually I collapsed into a heap on the floor, energy spent, tears flowing freely from my eyes. I was helpless, trapped and alone. And I was going to die in pain, watched by the people I thought I could trust most in the world while they yelled for my blood.

_Oh Blue, why didn't I listen to you? Why did I wait until it was too late to realise you were right?_

I'd attacked the Turtles the previous night, on the say-so of the Dragons. You'd think that was proof enough that we weren't allies, but it didn't seem to matter much now. All I could think was that it was another bridge well and truly nuked. Everyone I might once have turned to for help, I had managed to alienate. And this was how it was going to end.

Eventually I managed to stop my tears and sit up. I made up my mind that I was going to face my death with some kind of dignity, not as a snivelling wreck. I did my best to wipe my eyes and clean off some of the dried blood that had spilled from my nose and congealed on my face. I would have taken a few deep breaths but inhalation was the most painful thing for me right then – the fresh air made my nose feel like it was being attacked by a million needles and when it got to my lungs it felt like they were being compressed, sending stabbing pains into my chest. I settled for shallow breaths through my mouth as I tried to guess the time. Maybe about five. As if to send confirmation, my stomach growled. I managed a rueful grin. Here I was in the worst trouble of my life, probably dead within the next seven hours, beaten to a bloody pulp and I was wondering if the condemned gets to eat a hearty meal. Hell, I'd have settled for a glass of water.

I stayed that way for half an hour, trying to keep my mind away from the 'what if' scenarios. Instead I thought about the good times I'd had in my short life. There were depressingly few of them and many related to the Dragons, which I didn't want to think about for obvious reasons. But there were enough to make me think that my existence hadn't been a total waste. I was deep in a reminiscence from shortly before I ran away from home for the first time, having an illicit drink with friends in a public park and laughing so hard I thought I'd puke or pass out or both, when I heard the sound of the door being released. This time it was quieter than when Hun had been here and I might have missed it save for the fact I had been unconsciously waiting for the noise since I'd found out what my fate was to be.

The guy who walked in wasn't Hun, but then I hadn't expected it to be. Hun would be laughing it up with the other Dragons right up until the moment he took centre stage and annihilated me. Maybe I was to be paraded in front of the assembled Dragons – but no, it was too early for that surely. He was dressed in typical Dragon clothes, if a bit less punk than we – _they_ – usually favour, baggy pants and jacket, a beanie pulled over his face and sunglasses. I've never understood that whole 'sunglasses at night' thing, but it's a look that a lot of them cultivated. I ducked my head before he could get a good look at my face. I didn't want to know if it was some one I might have once drank and laughed with come to lead me to my fate.

He closed the door behind him and approached me. My heart sped up. This was it. It was too late to change anything now, too late for escape or for pity. I clenched my right fist, the one without the broken digits, reminding myself to show no weakness. That would be hard later, but for now it was something to hold on to.

"Landed yourself in a mess this time, didn't you?"

My head shot up. "_Blue_?"

The figure in front of me raised his shades and sure enough, the exposed skin was green. He was trying to give me a reassuring grin but I could sense the tension he was feeling, written in the lines of his face. I couldn't believe it. Less than 24 hours before I'd attacked his brother with a pipe and now he was here in front of me – to help me? There was a seed of doubt in my mind that told me he had no reason to want to help me and he was just here to gloat, to tell me he'd told me so. Yet even as I thought it, I knew it wasn't true.

"I told you," he said patiently. "It's Leo, not Blue."

"Leo…" I swallowed, trying to get rid of the dry feeling in my throat. "What are you doing here? You can't let them catch you…"

"I'm hoping they won't," he said dryly, examining the cuffs that bound my wrists. "Hold your hands out as far apart as you can."

I did as he said; still not able to comprehend that he was really here. "You've come here to get me out? How did you know I…hey, watch it with that!"

Leo took out one of the giant swords he had strapped to his back and eyed the cuffs. "Just hold still. You don't want me to cut off one of your hands do you?"

I squeezed my eyes closed, trying to stop my hands from shaking. I had visions of the sword missing the cuffs altogether and skewering me somehow. Still, that was better than staying here until the Dragons freed me. I heard a swish and a metallic noise and suddenly my wrists flew further apart. I hadn't realised I was pulling against the restraints until just then.

I opened my eyes and looked in wonder at my hands, unable to believe I was free. The cuffs were still around my wrists but the links between them had been severed, the chain that attached me to the wall fallen to the floor by the same action. I was no longer trapped.

Glancing up at Leo, I tried to get my head around what was happening. "How did you know I was in trouble? How did you know where I was?"

"Saw you running from the cops and followed you back to the warehouse. We overheard your little tantrum and thought you might end up in this situation. It wouldn't be the first time someone has. We were keeping an eye on your apartment."

"But…I attacked your brother last night…"

"Yeah, a lot of people make that mistake." He helped me get to my feet, noticing the way I winced at the pressure his arm put on my ribs. "Are you going to be OK?"

"I'll live." I leant on him while my legs got used to standing up again. One of my knees was swollen up but didn't seem to be broken. "How are we gonna get out of here? I know it's early but there's bound to be a whole bunch of Dragons around."

"Thirty seven," replied Leo and I winced. Word must have spread about me being a traitor for so many people to be here so early.

"Dragon Face thinks I'm a spy for you guys. They're expecting you to show up tonight."

"Don't worry about it. We're employing the art of distraction."

"Distraction?"

"Usually we'd employ stealth, sneak you out of here, but you're in no shape to creep around unseen. If we can't get you out quietly, we'll have to make sure the Dragons are too busy to stop us."

"How will you know when that is?"

"We'll know." Leo shot a grin in my direction. "Donatello seems to have a trick for every situation. The shell-cell has a tracker and the tracker's programmed to explode if the right code's dialled in from one of the other shell-cells."

"Explode? Man, I hope it's in Dragon Face's front pocket when that happens," I said and was rewarded with a laugh. "And then what?"

"Then we get the hell out of here." Leo was listening intently at the door and I fell silent, hoping that his plan worked. Thirty seven Dragons against four turtles and an injured teen? Not good odds. And the Dragons were prepared for their arrival, as I tried to tell Leo when he walked in. Exploding cell phone or not, they'd have to be damn good to get us all out of here in one piece.

For several minutes there was nothing and I had to resist the urge to start questioning Leo again. I knew we had to wait, but I was so impatient to be out of there and as far away from the Dragons as I could get that every second that passed felt like hours. Then suddenly there was a bang and a panicked yell and I knew it was showtime.

A few seconds after that the door to the main area of the warehouse flew open and five of the Dragons burst through it, all armed. Leo jumped into action, felling the first two as they came in with a flying kick, his swords slicing through the weapons of the two behind as he landed. He sheathed one of the swords and knocked over the fifth with a punch to the face before turning his attention back to the two thugs still examining their drastically shortened weapons and knocking them off their feet by dropping low and sweeping their legs from under them. It took mere seconds, so quickly that I could barely believe my eyes.

"Come on," said Leo, looking through the door and checking to see if anyone else was heading our way. "We have to get out of here."

"Amen to that," I replied fervently, limping after him.

In the main area of the warehouse, all hell had broken loose. About two thirds of the Dragons were already down. Dragon Face was curled in a corner, nursing a burned hand – he must have had hold of the shell-cell when it exploded. Well, it might not have been his front pocket but at least it hurt him. In the ring I could see Red going ballistic, fighting six guys at once and it looked like he was winning. Orange – Mikey – was swinging those damn weapons around. I knew from experience that those damn things hurt when they connect to the head and I winced when he smacked three Dragons in the face with one swing. Donatello, the turtle who made the shell-cell go boom, was throwing those ninja stars at the Dragons, but every single one of them missed. I needn't have worried though, three seconds after they embedded themselves in the walls they exploded, showering the thugs with sparks and debris, forcing them to run.

"Move!" Leo put a hand on my back and propelled me toward the exit. I took the hint and hurried as much as I could to the doors. I had no idea what was going to happen when I got outside but at that moment all I could think of was that I had never expected to see the outside of the warehouse again and now freedom was within my reach…

Right up until Hun blocked the door.

I don't know where he was until then, but he walked in from the outside and I assume that he'd been somewhere and heard the ruckus from within. Whatever, his timing was lousy.

I tried to back up, but Hun shot out an arm faster than I would have thought possible and grabbed me by the wrist, yanking me toward him. I struggled against his grip but he was damn strong, his hand easily circling my wrist.

"I knew you'd lead them here," he said to me, his voice gloating. Then he raised his voice so that the turtles could hear him. "Drop your weapons! Now!"

I whipped my head around and saw Leo hesitate, his swords drawn. None of the others were in my line of sight, but I heard the sounds of fighting cease and I knew that they were weighing up their chances of getting to Hun before he did something to me even worse than the Dragons already had done.

Hun reached out with his free arm and grabbed me by the neck, squeezing tightly. I felt my vision begin to darken and my legs buckle. I wanted to tell them not to do it because he wasn't going to let me go either, that all they could achieve was for us all to die together…

"Last chance. Drop the weapons."

Another second of silence – and suddenly Hun released his grip on my neck, staggering forward and tripping right over me. I fell over and Hun narrowly missed squishing me like a bug, landing slightly to my right with a grunt. Coughing, unable to work out what had just happened, I rolled onto my back and saw a man standing above us, wielding a baseball bat and wearing a hockey mask. The vigilante.

"Oh _shit_," I muttered, hoping he didn't remember me.

"'Bout time I got some action," he said cheerfully. "I've been going nuts waiting out there!"

I scrambled to my feet and got out of the way in a hurry. Hun had the same idea and got up, more slowly but definitely a whole lot angrier.

The vigilante swung the bat at him again but this time Hun was ready and caught it. The two of them had a stare down for a few seconds before Hun managed to snatch it away. For a moment I thought that Hun might be able to get the upper hand.

"Hiii-_ya_!"

Leo hit Hun right in the back with both feet and the vigilante barely made it out of the way as he pitched forward. Managing to keep his feet this time, he turned and ran at Leo as he landed, fist raised ready to do some real damage. Leo leapt out of the way and Hun stumbled as his momentum carried him forward.

"Casey, get the kid out of here!" Leo barely glanced at me as he raced after Hun. I could see Red heading for the fray too – figured. He struck me as the type who thought he was missing out if he didn't get involved in the action.

Apparently the vigilante was the same. He grabbed my upper arm and pulled me toward the door, grumbling the whole time about them having fun without him. The Dragons who had apparently been guarding the warehouse were laid out on the ground, no interest in stopping us. I let the vigilante – Casey? – lead me off to a van a block over. Damned if I didn't recognise it. The last time I saw it, the Dragons had managed to capture the vigilante and the turtles had been there to free him too. I saw the van after getting a serious blow to the head from Mikey and then looking up to find the van bearing down on me. I don't think I ever moved so fast in my life.

Casey climbed into the driver's seat and I managed to get into the passenger side, in spite of having only one good hand to work with. I barely shut the door before he took off in a screech of tyres. No doubt about it, this guy was as maniacal behind the wheel as he was in a fight.

"Shouldn't ya take off the mask?" I said as he did a handbrake stop at the corner that threw my injured body into the door and throwing the van into reverse.

"Don't worry. I'm a really good driver." Casey put the van into forward again and sped up the street we had just exited, back to the warehouse. I was beginning to wonder if maybe I should put on my seatbelt.

Casey aimed the van straight at the doors of the warehouse and that made up my mind; I grabbed at the seatbelt and then realised I wasn't going to be able to fasten it with my broken fingers. Instead I braced myself for impact. Fortunately, the doors were wide enough for the van and made of wood. They gave with a crash and Casey hit the handbrake again, stopping right inside the building. Through the window I could see Hun lying in the centre of the floor, down and out.

The turtles ran to the van and opened the back doors, jumping in quickly. Before they could all get inside, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and turned to my own door. Dragon Face was there, his face a mask of rage, reaching out to pull the door open. I beat him to it, throwing the door wide and smashing him in his face. He fell back with a groan and I grinned. Payback's a bitch, unless you're the one doling it out.

The back doors slammed and Casey put the van into reverse, driving us out of the warehouse. I had time to see the utter ruin that the building had become; the Purple Dragons lying about on the floor, the ring demolished, the walls charred and filled with holes. Then we were driving away and I leant back in my seat and stared at the sky through the windshield. I had thought less than an hour ago that I would never see it again and here I was, free. In spite of my breathing difficulties and the multitude of pains that were coming from my various wounds, I had never felt so good in my life.

I was alive.


	5. Epilogue

**Author Note: **I had real problems with the epilogue to this story. I knew what was supposed to happen but putting it into words wasn't happening. Then I got distracted by my other chapter fic, my one-shots, artwork for the Stealthy Stories fan awards and that pesky thing known as Real Life. So I know this is late up and I apologise. For better or worse, this is the _last_ time I'm re-writing this chapter! I still have no Word and I'm aware my grammar and spelling is weak. I have tried to ensure everything is correct but I may need forgiveness should I have missed anything. Leave a review on the way out and let me know how well it works, or if it didn't.

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Do you believe in Karma? You know, what goes around comes around? I never used to. I always believed that you take what you want and to hell with anyone else. I changed a lot since then but I never thought about Karma or Fate or anything like that until yesterday. My first full day back in New York after over five years away. It's winter and bitterly cold, there are better times to come back to the city, but I woke up about six weeks ago with a little voice in my head telling me it was time I went home. I'd been living in Chicago of all places until then. I left New York - _ran away again_ I sometimes think when I'm feeling low - the day after my rescue from the Purple Dragons. I didn't dare stay too long in spite of the protection I was being given by the Turtles. I didn't deserve their protection and they shouldn't have to risk themselves to look after me.

I had my wounds patched up by a redhead whose name escaped me the moment I left the city. She berated me the entire time, much to the amusement of her little green buddies and the vigilante. She couldn't do very much, she wasn't a doctor or anything, but I figured what she had done would hold up until I got to a place where I could safely visit a hospital. My broken fingers were taped up, cuts cleaned, all my boo-boo's marvelled over. There was some conversation about my next move but I was determined to leave the City. I just wanted to get _away_.

Leo drove me to the bus station in the green van they used and made me wait until the first greyhound pulled up before he'd let me leave its safety. When the bus did pull up, I had no idea where it was heading but I knew I had to be on it.

"Well, thanks for everything," I said casually, putting my hand on the door to let myself out. I hate saying thanks even more than I hate saying goodbye.

Leo put out an arm to stop me. "Wait, take these."

"Huh?" I looked down at the sunglasses he was offering me and realisation dawned. My face was still a mess even if I didn't feel quite as battered as I had before. I put them on and checked myself in the wing mirror. Not ideal, but less obvious than the way my eyes were bruised.

"Uh, thanks," I said, embarrassed. "I mean, for everything. Y'know, saving my life and stuff?"

"Yeah," replied Leo, looking amused for a moment before growing serious again. "There is one thing you can do to repay us."

"What?"

"It doesn't matter where you go, there's gangs like the Dragons everywhere. I don't want to think I put my brothers lives at risks just for you to run off and make the same mistake again. So - no more gangs. No more crime."

I nodded. "Promise. No gangs. Believe me, I'm not anxious to go through all _that_ shit again!"

Leo smiled. "Take care of yourself."

"I will. You guys too. I'll see you if I ever come back to New York." I opened the door of the van, jumped on the bus and bought a ticket with the money that the redhead had loaned me to the end of the line - South Carolina as it turned out. Far enough. The bus pulled away ten minutes later and as we went past the alley where Leo was parked, I saw the van still waiting. I waved tentatively but I have no idea if the gesture was returned.

Then I was gone, on my way to my new life.

I wandered around the country for six months. I'll admit, I did do a little pickpocketing to survive, feeling guilty every time. I was breaking my promise, but I had to eat. Still, I knew that was just an attempt to justify myself. More often I would do a little panhandling to pay for my next bus ticket. Occasionally I hitch-hiked, but it's hard to get lifts in this day and age. Dumpster diving is pretty demeaning, but a choice between that and starvation and I chose to live, live with some semblance of honour.

When I got to Chicago I hooked up with another kid who played guitar and we did a busking act, more lucrative than sitting on a street corner looking pathetic. But it was cold and we'd had enough of that life, the fear of sleeping on the street, the constant worry that our parents would locate us or the cops would pick us up. So when I saw a poster about a centre for teen runaways I pointed it out to him and we went there. They found us apartments, enrolled us on a training course, made sure we had enough to eat. It was strange at first, after so long of doing whatever the hell I wanted but it beat the hell out of any of the alternatives. It was then I was able to quit the pickpocketing and shoplifting for good and I haven't broken the law since.

When I hit eighteen I had a job, my own place. I sent my parents a postcard telling them where I was and waited for a phonecall at least, or them to turn up on my doorstep. I steeled myself for confrontation, reminding myself that it was too late for them to do anything now, but they never phoned, wrote or showed up. Screw 'em. I got on this long without them, who needs it?

And then one day I woke up suddenly homesick and I knew I had to go back to New York. The time had come. Even if the Dragons were still around, they might not recognise me,and even if they did, so what? I worked out, my weak arm almost as strong as the other and I'd been taking karate lessons twice a week - guess I remembered how easily those Turtles were able to defend themselves with all that martial arts stuff. This time the only things in my apartment worth anything were my weight bench and my TV, aqcuired legally and I sold them to a friend, handed my notice in at my job and apartment and blew town. I went back on the bus. It seemed right somehow. I got here the day before yesterday, having already found myself an apartment through a newspaper ad. It'd do until I found another job, it was clean and most importantly, way off what I remembered to be Dragon turf.

Yesterday I got up for my first full day back home. I spent most of it exploring, remembering how things used to be and where I used to go. And I remembered the shop where I was taken by the Turtles to be patched up, although the reheads name was long forgotten. Second Time Around. I'd sent the money I used for a bus ticket back there and put in a note saying I was doing OK and staying out of trouble. But that had been years ago and I hadn't written again.

I wandered past the shop just as it was going dark, checking out the closing times on the door, thinking it might be better to go in close to closing. I wanted to tell the Turtles I was back in town and the redhead seemed like the best bet. I didn't see her as I meandered past the window, but I did see a guy from the back with long dark hair whom I was willing to bet was Casey.

I went to a cafe some blocks away and warmed myself with coffee. Maybe I was making a mistake, maybe I should just let things lie. They'd gotten on this long without news of me after all. But I wanted to prove to them that I had been worth the risk, show Leo that I hadn't screwed up again. Oh yeah, and rub Red's face in the fact.

It got late and I finished my coffee and began walking slowly back to the antique shop. Remember what I was saying about Karma? I'd done a lot of bad things on these streets and I was about to get a faceful of fate. . .

"Gimme your money."

"Huh?" I snapped out of my reverie and saw two kids in front of me, barely older than I'd been when I first arrived in New York. One had ratty blonde dreads and looked ill. The other wore a hat and looked angry and scared.

"Gimme your money!" Dreads took a step toward me and I instinctively raised my hands, ready to defend myself.

"Calm down kid," I said, knowing I wasn't going to hand over my cash. "You're not getting anything out of me so just leave. Before you get hurt."

"Give us your fuckin money!" Hat reached into his pocket and pulled out a switchblade. OK, not good. I didn't carry anything around with me, all I had was superior strength and training. And the fact that I was calm while they looked like they were shitting bricks.

I stared down at the knife, not especiallly scared - some of the stuff I've been through, takes a lot more than a terrified kid with a knife to scare me - but certainly concerned. And that was when I noticed the kids hand. There was a Dragon tattooed on the back. A Purple Dragon.

I began to snigger. I couldn't help it. The street was free of anyone but the three of us, a kid was waving a knife in my face, I could see the antique shop from where I stood and I hadn't even been back in New York for twenty-four hours. . . I knew I was making things worse, pissing these kids off would make them more likely to use the knife and I wouldn't be as on guard as I should be if I was laughing, but I just couldn't stop.

"You think I'm joking?" Hat jabbed the blade at me and I jerked back, still grinning like a loon. "Gimme the money or I'll kill you. I mean it!"

He sounded more scared than I was, I thought. These were the people the Dragons were recruiting these days? Standards were slipping. The two kids were trying to muster the courage up to jump me and the third guy was. . .

_Third guy?_

I saw him literally a split second before he kicked Hat in the back, knocking him flying and sending the knife skittering into the gutter. Dreads half turned and met a fist, crumpling to the ground. After a few seconds he picked himself up and ran, Hat following close behind. I tried to gape and giggle at the same time. The third guy was dressed in typial street style with a hat and sunglasses in spite of the gloom. The laughter I had been trying to beat down welled up again and this time there was no stopping it.

He regardd me curiously. "Are you alright?"

Yeah, I recognised the voice immediately. "Gonna be fine Blue. Heh. Just let me get a grip."

His lips twitched into a cautious smile as he realised who I was. "You came back."

That set me off into another bout of laughter. My stomach was beginning to ache. "Deja vu, Blue. Hey, that rhymed!"

"You're hysterical," he said, taking hold of my arm and pulling me into nearby alley. "Calm down. And don't worry about it, lots of people behave oddly in stresful situations."

That at least managed to stop me laughing. "I wasn't stressed, I had everything under control."

"Looked like it."

"I did! But thanks for the help anyway. Jeez, every time I see you I'm having to thank you for saving my ass!"

"It's my job."

"Yeah, my very own guardian turtle." I gave Leo a sideways look. He seemed different than he used to, even more intense and serious if such a thing was possible.

"How long have you been back?"

"Oh, nearly a full day now," I replied. "Look, it's freezing out here. You wanna catch up someplace else? I got beer back at my new place - you drink?"

"Sometimes. You stay out of trouble?"

"Always."

"Then let's catch up at your place." Leo pulled a shell-cell out of his pocket and began texting. I had to give a rueful grin at the sight of it, remembering how much trouble his old one got me into. I told him the address and added that he could invite his brothers along too, assuming Red was gonna behave himself.

We headed in the direction of my place, Leo quite happy to walk the streets when dressed from head to toe in baggy clothes and the sky finally gone all the way to darkness. I glanced off in the direction the two kids had run off in. "Purple Dragons are still around, huh?"

"Yeah. Hun's still in charge. But their power base is a lot weaker without the Foot to back them up."

"Casey still going after them all the time?"

"Not so often. April worries about him too much."

April, that was the redheads name. I'd forgotten. "Maybe someone _ought _to be out there taking them down. Maybe that way they'd be gone for good."

Leo gave me the stern look I remembered so well from his lectures about the company I kept all those years ago. "You're not getting any ideas are you?"

I returned his scrutiny with wide-eyed innocence. "Of course not! Just thinking out loud is all."

I knew he wasn't convinced, but he let it go. My mind however was working overtime. I hadn't had any plans in that direction when I decided to come home, but why not? I knew how they worked, where they hid, how much damage they could do. And I knew I was a match for most of them even back then in a one-on-one situation at least. Maybe I could atone for the life I used to lead back then. Or get revenge. Whatever. The wheel of Karma. What goes around comes around.

The Dragons were gonna get theirs.

**The End!**


End file.
